The bus scandal rocking the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs) is taken a new twist with the Head at the agency, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, insisting that she did not commit any wrong doing in the transaction that saw a whopping sum of N443 million taking out of the purse of the Federal Government to supply new buses to some public schools in the southwest Nigeria in 2021 only for the beneficiaries to receive used and rickety buses in 2024.

This newspaper had reported how contracts were awarded by the OSSAP-SDGs to some private companies to supply 10 brand new 27-seater buses to some selected schools with the payments made in May 2021. According to the document on the payment, each bus cost over N43m

The report quoted the banks, the account numbers and the companies that were to supply the buses to the schools in 2021.

Fact finding checks to the schools in January 2024, however, revealed that no bus was supply to any of the schools.

By the time the scandal blew open by the media report, the management of OSSAP-SDGs hurriedly supplied some buses to those schools few days to the end of January 2024. Surprisingly, however, no new bus was supplied to the schools; all are used and rickety buses.

The Secretary of the Program at OSSAP-SDGs, Mr Hamad Kawo while responding to an enquiry on the scandal revealed that “the supply of buses was part of the Constituency projects of one the leaders of the 9th National Assembly in 2021. It involved the supply of ten buses in total which was supplied and paid for by the office of the SSA/SDG after necessary acknowledgments.”

Kawo continued: “The practice was and is still that once that project falls within the constituency projects, it will be handed over to the beneficiaries via the representatives. In this context, the said 10 buses supplied were handed over to the Sponsor for symbolic presentation to the beneficiaries.

The questions on the lips of concerned Nigerians who are monitoring how the event is unfolding are Why did OSSAP-SDGs made payments for brand new buses in 2021 and has to wait till four years later in 2024 to supply used and rickety buses to the schools? What happened to the buses between 2021 and 2024? Who is the leader of the 9th National Assembly that used the 10 buses as Constituency Projects in 2021?

Real Spotlight News can report that in accordance with Financial Rules of Government, supply of these buses to the beneficiaries are to be certified received by the beneficiaries before any payment is made.

Why did Orelope-Adefulire’s OSSAP-SDGSlas paid the contractors without complied with rules of financial regulations and extant financial rules?

At the weekend, the woman in the eyes of the storm, Orelope-Adefulire, responded to an enquiry via text message, claiming that she did not commit any fraudulent act in the supply of the buses.

When she supposed to tell the world what she knew about the supply of used and rickety buses that could endanger the lives of innocent school students, she said: “Please be ready to meet me in the court to prove the corruption you claimed against me with facts.”

Victor Enyinnaya, the National President, Zero Tolerance for Corruption, an NGO spearheading crusade against corruption in Nigeria could not hide his disdain with the reply coming out from a Nigerian public office holder.

“This is an unrepentant woman who supposed not to hold a public office that demands trust and transparency. The tone of her response to the enquiry shows that she has drawn the battle line. How could a simple explanation expect from her led to her threatening court action?”

To Enyinnaya, there is more to this scandal that the world needs to know.

“The SOP, Mr Kawu has threw more light into what happened in 2021. Nigerians want to know who is that leader of the 9th House of Representatives and what really transpired that new buses that were paid for since 2021 are now being delivered in 2024 in bad condition.

“Nevertheless, our organisation won’t relent in getting to the root of this scandal, not until the perpetrators are exposed and are brought to book. We have raised a petition on this to Mr President and other relevant agencies within and outside Nigeria. We will come out with our next line of action in few days’ times,” Enyinnaya said.